Scotland has ratified a draft bill that will provide free access to menstrual products for women.
This country in northern England is the first nation to implement the policy.
The Scottish Parliament unanimously supported the passing of the Menstrual Products Bill on Tuesday (24/11).
With the draft bill, the government will provide for the sanitation needs of women in every public building.
“We all agree that no one needs to worry about where their sanitary products come from,” the Scottish lawmaker who submitted the bill, Monica Lennon, said.
“Scotland will not be the last country to implement this policy in history, but we have the opportunity to be the first. This has been long awaited,” she said.
Currently, the draft bill is mapping out the obligations of each ministry to create a scheme that ensures anyone can access free women’s sanitation products.
In the regulation, women’s sanitation products are also made free for students in Scotland. Apart from public buildings, under the draft law, schools and universities are obliged to provide sanitary menstrual products free of charge in every toilet.
Lennon said schools and universities must also be able to educate students to end the stigma that is often attached to menstruation in women.
Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government, Aileen Campbell, said the draft bill sent “an important message about the picture of Scotland as a country we want to be”.
“(What we want) is Scotland as a country with gender equality, where no one has to experience the humiliation of not using products that are suitable when they are menstruating or increasing household budgets to buy women’s sanitary products for their children, or being left educated , ” Campbell said.
“(Scotland is) a country where no one has to hide a tampon or pad on their sleeve,” she said.
Scottish leader, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the draft bill.
“Proud to support this innovative law, making Scotland the first country in the world to provide free menstrual products for all who need it,” Sturgeon said via Twitter account.
“This is an important policy for women and girls,” she said
